Hold On
by carissima
Summary: Harry's getting ready on his wedding day, unaware that he's being watched by his family.


Five beaming faces looked down at the scene below them. Two of them were openly weeping, while three of them had the gruff look of manly, macho men trying valiantly not to cry and thus betray that they were actually as emotional as a bunch of girls. Oh no, not these men.

_Sniff._

"Oh James, doesn't he look handsome?" Lily kept her eyes fastened on her son as she reached blindly for her husband's hand. "He looks just like you did on our wedding day."

"A bit less hungover, in my opinion," Sirius chuckled. "And I am an expert witness."

"I'm not sure you can be an expert witness if you're responsible for the crime, Padfoot," Remus murmured as he gathered Tonks closer, offering her a handkerchief which she gladly swiped to rub across her shimmering eyes and blow her nose loudly.

Giving her an exasperated look for the loud interruption, Lily turned back to watch Harry fiddle unnecessarily with his tie. "I know it's silly, but I wish you were down there to help him."

"Me too, but something tells me he has enough help." James motioned to the doorway, where Arthur Weasley stood, an empathetic look on his face.

"Having tied four of his sons' ties on all of their wedding days, he's got just about enough experience, I think," Remus agreed with a smile.

"Yours wasn't enough close to being straight on your wedding day, Prongs," Sirius remembered with a chuckle.

"Not until my bride reached the altar and straightened it for me," James agreed, squeezing Lily's hand gently.

"You looked like you'd just crawled out of a bar." Lily sent Sirius an amused look. Sirius distinctly remembered Lilly being _slightly_ more annoyed on the day in question, with promises muttered under her breath for retribution at the first opportunity. Thankfully, twenty years had softened the memory for her.

"While you looked like an angel," James declared, grinning. "Didn't she, Padfoot?"

"Absolutely gorgeous. No one could compare," Sirius agreed.

Remus shot his wife an amused look. "I don't know, Sirius. My wife was a radiant beauty on our wedding day."

"That she was, old friend," James concurred, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder and smiling at Tonks, who was flushing bright pink. "Had nothing at all to do with the fact that her hair was a bright and shimmering gold and her skin glowed luminously, which of course was nothing to do with her being a metamorphmagus."

"Yes, yes, Tonks was a beautiful bride," Lily agreed while waving her hands in a shushing manner. "But let's get back to Harry!"

They all quietened as they watched Arthur sit Harry down and shoved a glass of firewhiskey into his hand.

"Now Harry," Arthur began slowly as he wandered around the small bedroom which Harry had been given to get ready in.

"Tell him this is the most important day of his life," Lily urged.

"I know you wish your dad and Sirius could be here to give you all the advice normally passed onto sons on their wedding day."

"I always get forgotten," Remus muttered sullenly. "Never mind that I taught him how to produce a Patronus, or that I was the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher he ever had, oh no, only his father and childish godfather get all the adulation."

"You're so moody, Moony," Sirius teased as he grabbed his friend in a headlock that had the two of them rolling around behind Lily and James, who were desperately listening to the rest of Arthur's speech.

"Remus mentioned once that he couldn't wait for this day," Arthur continued sadly, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder, which had drooped considerably at the mention of his father and two best friends. "But I know they're all here, Harry, keeping their eye on you."

"I always liked Arthur," James murmured to his wife, who was struggling to stem her tears. "Do you think Harry knows we're here?"

Turning to her husband, Lily smiled tremulously before giving in and resting her head on his shoulder. "Of course he does. Ever since that day ... that horrible, wonderful day when he saw us, he's known we're here. Remember, we told him we would be with him until the end."

"What else would we do in the afterlife but stalk his every move and keep him on the straight and narrow?" Sirius wondered aloud as he shoved Remus playfully before resuming his seat next to James.

"Not his every move, Sirius," Lily said primly. "Harry is entitled to his privacy sometimes."

"I still can't believe you wouldn't let us watch his first time with G-" Sirius was cut off with a glare from the pretty redhead. "What? I wanted to make sure he didn't disappoint!"

"Ginny looked happy enough the next morning," Lily said demurely.

"And every day since," James hastened to add with a wink towards Sirius. "Just like his old dad."

"James, you know I hate it when you get all arrogant," Lily reprimanded her husband with a wry look.

Moving closer to his wife, James nuzzled the curve of her neck where he knew she was most sensitive. Within seconds he felt her shiver and heard her giggle. "Stop it! It's hardly the time or the place!"

"Later," he murmured softly before moving back to concentrate on the rest of Arthur's speech.

"Now, as Ginny's father, I may be _slightly_ biased," Arthur continued proudly, "but I'm positive that you couldn't have chosen a more perfect woman. Or been chosen by a more perfect woman, I should probably say."

Lily sighed happily as Harry laughed. "I knew they were perfect for each other the first time they met." Ignoring the disbelieving snort that emanated from the other side of James, Lily nudged her husband. "Didn't you?"

"Of course, dear," James agreed dutifully.

"Harry is a chip off the old block," Remus noted. "Not only is he the spitting image of James, but in so many ways he's just like you."

"And I always knew who the perfect girl was for me," James asserted, casting his friend a wicked look.

"Shame she despised you for so many years then," Sirius interjected lazily.

Remus and Tonks laughed while James glared at Sirius and Lily ignored him. "Harry never hated Ginny," Tonks countered through her laughter.

"But he did pay little attention to her while she was dying of love for him," Remus mused, slyly looking across at James, who flinched. "That's a familiar story."

"I wasn't exactly _dying_ of love for Lily while she ignored me," James protested.

"Oh really?" Lily re-entered the conversation.

"I ... oh sod it." James threw his hands in the air and slumped in his chair, resigned to the fact that he'd have to put up with his friends' teasing for the rest of eternity.

"She's independent, she knows what she wants and she's not afraid to be devious to get it," Arthur was explaining to Harry.

"Just like his mother," James muttered while Lily looked on proudly.

"I know, Mr Weasley," Harry said weakly.

"Don't worry, Harry, wedding jitters are perfectly normal," Arthur patted him on the shoulder again.

"Oh, I'm not nervous," Harry stood up and put his half-finished glass on the table. "I've been waiting to marry your daughter since I was 16."

Lily sniffled into James' handkerchief.

"And I have it on good authority that she's been waiting to marry me since she was 10 years old."

Sirius chuckled. "Told him that when he proposed, she did."

"We know, Sirius, we were all there as well," Remus reminded him.

"I've always liked Ginny," Sirius continued. "Funny, smart, beautiful, redheaded ... there was no competition really."

"Much better than that Cho girl," Lily agreed. "Ginny definitely keeps Harry on his toes, just what he needs."

"A Potter can't resist a redhead," James admitted. "I guess it was fate."

Arthur was laughing at his soon-to-be-son-in-law. "I've always liked you, Harry. You don't know how glad I am that I genuinely like the man my daughter wants to marry. A father has nightmares about what kind of man his daughter will insist on marrying. Now, I know you weren't her first boyfriend, but I also knew you'd be her last. She told me, little Ginevra did, when she was eleven. Came back from her first year, which had been so traumatising for her ..."

"Poor love," Lily whispered. "So strong."

"And she came down in the middle of the night once after having one of her nightmares. I'd come back late from work and was sitting having my dinner. A lovely bit of ham, that night. Anyway, Ginny comes down, pours a glass of milk and sits next to me. She sits there, waits for me to finish, then sneaks under my arm and cuddles me, when really I know she wants me to cuddle her but she won't ask. After a few minutes of silence, she says to me, quietly, "Dad, I'm going to marry Harry one day." And I believe her. She's just like her mother, that one."

James pulled a quietly sobbing Lily onto his lap and buried his head in her glorious red hair. "I would have loved to meet my daughter-in-law."

"You'd adore her, and she'd fall head over heels in love with you," Remus murmured.

"Only because you happen to look just like the man she's besotted with," Sirius explained with a cheeky grin.

"I'm sorry that it took me a while to realise how amazing your daughter is," Harry says softly. "But I'll never let her down. She'll always know that she comes first for me, no matter what. And I'll love her forever."

"That's all I need to hear, son," Arthur beamed as he blinked rapidly. "Well, the ceremony starts in five minutes. Don't be late!"

Left alone, Harry looked into the mirror and moved his lips silently.

"Can't we just ..." Lily looked around pleadingly.

"No," James took her hand and squeezed again. "You know we can't."

"There's no point wishing you were the mirror of Erised," Harry muttered at the mirror, causing his parents to double-take as if he had read their minds. "I'm happier than I've ever been, happier than I thought I could be. I don't even know if I'd see you, or whether I'd see Ginny and our family."

"Smart boy, that one," Sirius muttered.

"I think it's okay for me to let go now," Harry continued as he stared hard at the mirror. "I'm going to start my own family, start a new line of Potters. My children, _our _children will know that the bravest people ever to fight against Voldemort were their grandparents. They'll know that their grandparents had the best two friends anyone could wish for."

"It's okay to let go of us, son," James said, wishing that his son could hear him. "But if it's okay, we'll hold onto you."

"And Teddy will know that his parents were as brave as mine were," Harry sighed softly. "We'll look out for him like my godfather looked out for me. Although I'll try to be a little less reckless than Padfoot."

"Cheeky git," Sirius managed to say as he turned away to swipe something that had gotten into his eye.

"Come on Harry, can't be late!" Ron's head appeared round the door and his arm snaked inside to grab Harry's. "Let's go!"

"Come on, we'll get left behind if we stay here and blubber," James said firmly, following his son and dragging his weeping wife behind him. "Honestly, Lily, I've never known you to be so damn emotional."

"Someone is forgetting what happened when Harry captained the Gryffindors to victory in his sixth year," Sirius whispered to Remus with a grin as they followed. "Cried his little eyes out, this one."

"Shut up, Padfoot," James called behind his shoulder as they trouped through the Burrow, passing numerous guests helping out, led by Molly who by now was a master wedding organiser, having hosted all of her children's weddings at the Burrow (but one, she still held out hope for Charlie), all in quick succession. In fact, it had only been a month since Ron had married Hermione; Molly hadn't even bothered to take down the marquee in the garden.

They followed Harry as he greeted guests and took some teasing from the Weasley men. They followed him as he made his way to the front of the marquee and stood at the makeshift altar that Molly had insisted on. Ron stood beside him, grinning happily at his own wife and George stood beside him with his six month old son Fred sitting happily on his father's hip.

"Fitting, ain't it?" Sirius motioned towards George and baby Fred. "He's going to be a little monster when he grows up."

Sirius waved at adult Fred, who was standing behind his twin brother, much as he had done for the past two years, and the twenty years before that, in more substantial form. "Of course he is, Sirius mate. Wouldn't have it any other way!"

Chuckling, Sirius turned back to find Remus and Tonks staring avidly at Teddy, who was sitting on Hermione's lap, happily playing with her, trying to grab the baby broomstick that Hermione had taken away as the ceremony was due to start. "Heartbreaker, that one's going to be."

"He's so handsome," Tonks said, not for the first time. "Just like his father."

Sirius was about to make a joke about Remus' appearance when Lily kicked him and shook her head. "Not today," she said quietly.

"Fine," Sirius huffed. "Just trying to lighten the mood. Weddings are supposed to be a happy occasion, you know. All you lot have done is cry and get all emotional. If you don't all snap out of it, I'm going to find old Peter, beat him up for old times sake."

"Don't you get bored of that?" Remus asked in all seriousness.

"Never," Sirius admitted happily. "It's more fun when we're transformed. More of a hunt."

"Sh, the music's started," Lily elbowed Sirius and motioned for him to sit down and shut up.

"So bossy," he grumbled at her but did as she said, realising that while he'd been distracted, the marquee had filled up and everyone was seated.

As the entire congregation turned to look towards the Burrow, so did the Marauders. Lily kept her gaze firmly on her son. Ginny appeared to gasps of delight, but Lily was watching Harry's reaction. His eyes were bright and his gaze firm, his mouth had curved into a smile she'd never seen on his face before, and Harry's mother had noted _all_ of his smiles. Satisfied, Lily turned to look at her almost-daughter-in-law and nearly fainted. Was that ..?

"Where did she find that?" Remus asked, looking to see if anyone else knew but they all looked as shocked as he did.

"What?" Tonks asked, her hair transforming from red to bubblegum pink.

"It's my wedding dress," Lily said slowly.

"Lily, you were the most gorgeous bride I've ever seen," James repeated from earlier. "But I think our new daughter has equalled your beauty."

"It's uncanny," Sirius breathed slowly. "It's almost like ..."

"Our wedding," James finished for him. "It's perfect."

"I thought it was ruined when ... well," Lily broke off, remembering seeing the devastation that had happened to their family home that night.

"I thought she'd wear Molly's dress, since she's the only girl," Tonks said. "I guess it was more important to Ginny to give Harry a tradition from his family."

"Oh, Tonks," Lily grabbed her and hugged her tightly. "She's the right girl, isn't she? I love her."

"Perfect, Lils. We _just_ talked about it, upstairs," Sirius rolled his eyes at her sentimentality. And possible senility.

"You don't understand," Lily sniffled as she let go of Tonks with a rueful smile.

As they all turned to watch Harry reach out and grasp Ginny's hand firmly, watched as he caressed her hand and grinned down at her and watched as she answered his grin with a shining smile that had Lily reaching for her husband's hand once more.

Sirius blinked furiously. "I understand, Lily. Perfectly," he muttered, grinning as widely as his godson as he watched the creation of Harry's new family.

"Can't wait for the next step. Grandchildren!" James exclaimed cheerfully.


End file.
